What is the meaning of life?

Is it YOU who holds the key?

Alan Bennett

"Life is rather like a tin of sardines - we're all of us looking for the key"

Apparently (I say this because I cannot remember the source), the question 'What is the meaning of life?' is one of the most searched for questions on the internet.

And if this is actually a fact, then I do not find that too surprising.

Life has become fast, critical and at times painful for people, when all we really want to do is just life a peaceful, happy and content one.

So, what is the meaning to life?

Well, I believe that the answer to this is really rather easy . Quite simply, it is whatever you want it to be.

You think that’s too easy? Think about it.

There cannot be one sole reason for a meaning to life because everyone on this planet is different and therefore everyone will have different desires for their life. We are often looking for a higher meaning because we either believe in God or, we just cannot accept that ‘this’ is all there is to it.

But ultimately, what we are surely trying to do, is get the best out of the time that we have here?

The meaning of life would be a very simple concept, if it were not for the people that constantly try to throw a spanner in the works e.g. Government, religions, controlling family members, insecure friends, warmongers, banks, work, ineffective bosses etc.

The reality is, that all of these elements are external to the reality that you can actually have because whether you want to believe it or not, you are in charge.

Rather than worry about what the meaning of life is, worry about what you want from life and how you are going to get it.

There is no higher power or meaning (in my opinion) other than what is in your head:

You know if you want to do good or bad.

You know if you want to be rich or poor.

You know if you want to sink or swim.

You know if you are going to fight or fly.

You know if you are going to work late to help with that promotion, or you go out for a drink with friends instead.

These are all decisions that only you can make and no different to whether you get up and shower in the morning, or decide to give hygiene a rest for a while.

You really are in control of your destiny and most people cannot handle that and this I would argue, is probably why many of us leave it up to fate , believing someone else should provide the answers. And when life doesn't 'gift' us what we want, we then feel cheated because we have not accomplished anything we wanted to.

I read somewhere, once upon a time, that we take the time to plan all sorts of things, but we very often forgot to plan our lives, so….

Make a Plan

‘A goal without a plan is just a wish’

- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

What you will need:

We can do this old school with just a pen and a piece of paper. If living in the modern world, you can do this on a mobile. I am old school I am afraid, but there you have it.

The exercise: Whenever I have read self-help books and they say ‘you must complete this exercise before you can move on,’ I have instantly lost faith in the book because I wanted the book to provide me with the answer (lazy). You see, the whole reason I had bought the book was because I did not have the answer! No-one wants to have to go off and do some homework, as you may as well still be at school.

However, when you say it out loud, you realise that actually, if you are not prepared to put in some graft and effort for your own life’s purpose, then how can you expect anything to happen in life, for you?

Therefore, I am afraid that I now must be a hypocrite and say; you have to do this exercise, but I will not insist upon it now.

If you are using your smartphone, diarise some time for yourself in it when you next know you are going to have ten minutes to yourself. If you truly do not think you have ten minutes, you are going to have to make time. If you are not prepared to do that, then there are issues there my friend.

So, the exercise: This is not a chore and should be pleasant, although it may not be easy.

According to a chap called, Warren Buffett (an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is considered by some to be one of the most successful investors in the world and as of March 2017 is the second wealthiest person in the United States, and the fourth wealthiest in the world, with a total net worth of $73.3 billion - Source, Wikipedia) he states that most people end up being average because they do not make a list.

He once asked his pilot to list his top 25 career goals. Once his pilot had done this, he then asked him to narrow it down to his top five. Once his pilot had his top five, he told him to chuck away the other twenty so that his primary focus was on the top five because the other twenty would be a distraction.

That is true though isn’t it?

When you think about a child in a sweet shop, they cannot decide want they want because there is so much choice and so they end up taking ages to pick something, when they could already have been eating some delicious candy and half the time, they will have a meltdown, mum will get fed up and they will leave with nothing!

The list – Make a list of twenty five priorities for your life; really take the time to think about them and list them down. Do not think too hard about it and if you are struggling then this may be a bit morbid but think ‘if I died tomorrow, what I would have wanted to have done before that?’

If you cannot get up to twenty five, that is fine, similarly if you have more, then you will just have to spend a bit more time narrowing them down.

When you have your twenty five, I would suggest leaving it for a day or two and then come back to it and have a read through to see if you still feel the same about the list, and add or delete those that you have changed your mind about.

When you are sure on the things you want to achieve, you then need to narrow this down to your top 5.

This will not be easy because you may feel that each one is just as important as the other. However, you may find that some goals will achieve others. E.g. If you want to make money and buy a Ferrari, then within your top five needs to be the making money over the Ferrari, as you need the money to be able to buy it in the first place.

When you have your top five, you need to keep these visible. Keep them somewhere that you will see them every day. This will keep your goals at the forefront of your mind and hopefully help you keep on track.

What you should now do with your top five, is make them SMART goals. Yes, that dreaded acronym.

Let’s keep this simple. SMART goals are not scary; they are there to make things more achievable.

S = Specific – This basically means you need to know exactly what is you want. E.g. ‘I want to learn to speak French’, rather than, ‘I would love to learn another language one day’.

M = Measurable – In other words, how will you know when you have learnt enough French? Will it be so that you can buy a loaf of bread when on holiday, or do you want to be fluent so that you can get a job?

A = Action Based – So you want to learn French, but are you prepared to commit to taking the time to do it? Do you have the funds to buy yourself a subscription to a language service such as Babble, do you have the time to put a few hours aside a week to learn?

R = Realistic – Are you actually ever going to France on holiday? Are there any jobs you want that require French speakers? Is French the correct language for you to be learning?

T = Time framed – When are you going to be able to do this by? It needs to be realistic. If you are going to France on holiday next week, then you may be able to learn a few words, but you are not going to be able to apply for that job because you are certainly not going to be fluent.

Now all you have to do, and this is the magic, is to TAKE ACTION AND MAKE IT HAPPEN.

Here is a link to some free resources that you can use to assist you.

Good luck and please let me know how you get on!

Is there a meaning to life?